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I. 





PETER B. SWEENY 


On the “RING FRAUDS” and other 

public questions Taken from his 

» 

interviews and other papers. 


For private circulation only. 


October 9th, 1894. 


PUBLISHED BY 

John Y. Savage, 

52 EAST I2TH STREET, 
New York City. 












INDEX. 


1. Introduction, - _ . from page 3 to 9 

2. Editorial from JV. V. Herald on Mr. 

Sweeny’s sacrificing interest mon¬ 
eys, - - - - from page ii to 14 

3. City Credit and the Sinking Fund, from page 15 to 39 

4. “Ring Frauds,” - - - from page 41 to 65 



« 



/ 

PETER B. SWEENY 

•» 

On the “RING FRAUDS” and other 
public questions Taken from his 
interviews and other papers. 


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For private circulation only. 


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October 9th, 1894. 


PUBLISHED BY 

John Y. Savage, 

52 EAST I2TH STREET, 

New York City. 





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1 




INTERVIEWS AND OTHER PAPERS BY PETER 
B. SWEENY —RELATING TO THE “RING FRAUDS” 
AND OTHER PUBLIC QUESTIONS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


No one is entitled to an apology fort his pamphlet, 
unless it be the Gentleman in whose intended service 
it is printed ; but a brief explanation of its origin and 
purpose, personal to myself, may not be out of place. 

I have been a warm, personal friend of Mr. Sweeny 
for many years, and have felt very keenly the injustice 
of the multiform misinformation which has sought to 
connect him with the memorable, so-called “ring 
frauds ” of ’70 and ’71. From this motive 1 laid away 
a number of copies of Mr. Sweeny’s interview, in the 
year 1889, on that subject—as I have also his other 
papers to the public—but one gentleman of the press 
after another obtained copies, until I found myself with¬ 
out any more to meet a continuing demand. Hence, 
I concluded to print, in this manner, that interesting in¬ 
terview, in aid of the truth of history—and to add some 
additional matter bearing on the same undying topic of 
public interest—as well as contributions which have a 
current value. I desired to frame a record which will 




4 


be an antidote to much poison, viciously disseminated. 
It has involved a strain on my pecuniary resources, 
which are sufficiently narrow, but one that I cheerfully 
bear, for many, many reasons of head and heart. I 
am aware that the gentlemen, who have had accurate 
knowledge of the facts, professional and otherwise, 
under a sense of duty as well as magnanimity, do 
Mr. Sweeny the justice to declare publicly that he had 
no knowledge of the frauds. The late Mr. George 
Jones, long editor and proprietor of The New York 
Times, which was so conspicuous in the municipal cru¬ 
sade, a short time before his death said that he deeply 
regretted the injustice that had been done to Mr. 
Sweeny in that matter, by which a useful career had 
been so unfairly marred. This tribute of mine is 
probably wholly unnecessary, public opinion on this 
question having been so thoroughly instructed, and 
now resting on so firm a basis. But even so, I shall 
do what I have laid out to do, for the pleasure of do¬ 
ing it. 

Our general friend. Job—whose patience and prin¬ 
ciples I have always greatly admired—in Chapter 3 r, 
headed “Job makes a solemn protestation of his in¬ 
tegrity in several duties,” says : “Oh, that mine ad¬ 
versary had written a book.” Bookmaking must have 
been as dangerous and destructive a business then as 
it is now, even on the race track, to have given Job, in 
the resentful state of his feelings, the desire to put his 


5 


enemy in the authors stocks for merited punishment. 
But I would reverse, for opposite reasons, the excla¬ 
mation and desire that my friend would write a book. 
No book could be more interesting than that which 
should treat of the men who figured in public life in 
the direction of the Democratic party, in this city and 
State, from i 855 to 1870; and no one could do the 
subject better justice than Mr. Sweeny, for he was in 
the inner councils of that period and had a large share 
in creating the important events of that richly-crowded 
period. From the old “ hard shell ” time of Daniel S. 
Dickinson, Aaron Ward, George W. Clinton, Gideon J. 
Tucker, Augustus and Richard Schell, Horace F. Clark, 
and other Democratic stalwarts, to that of the three 
consecutive nominations of John T. Hoffman for Gov¬ 
ernor, against all the old leaders in the State at the 
time—including Sandford E. Church, Samuel J. Tilden, 
Judge Allen, John Striker, Peter Cagger, Delos de 
Wolf, and their compatriots of the latter day Albany 
regency—lies much historical treasure. He could 
tell, from his close relations with that gentleman, 
of the bountifully gifted Lorenzo B. Shephard— 
the father of Edward M. Shephard, the leader re¬ 
former in our sister city—and his time—of his sterling 
qualities, his wide influence, and his great ability—not 
alone of these, but the warm social side of his charac¬ 
ter, his personal magnetism, his leadership among men, 
his characteristic of doing all things well—actuated by 


2 



6 


high aspiration and aided by unceasing industry. Lo¬ 
renzo B. Shephard died young; but there was no one of 
his period whose life was fuller, for his length of days, 
of good work—who was more generally beloved or who 
was more promising of the highest distinction, when 
death came so suddenly to snatch him away. He was 
an examplar of public life worthy of conspicuous com¬ 
memoration. Peace to his ashes. Mr. Sweeny could 
make clear some of the mysteries of Presidential Con¬ 
ventions—especially that of 1868—and expose the 
reasons why Sandford E. Church, the candidate of the 
Democracy of our State, failed, then, of the nomina¬ 
tion—and why Horatio Seymour was nominated, and 
not Salmon P. Chase, the candidate really intended 
by the Democratic leaders at large. My friend could 
reincarnate and rehabilitate fully, of that period, many 
men of distinguished mark, includinof Dean Richmond 
and the other strong men who controlled the party 
in the State, and, locally, Isaac V. Fowler, Fernando 
Wood, James Conner, Elijah F. Purdy, the “ old war 
horse John Kelly, General Sickles, James T. Brady, 
John Van Buren, Edward Cooper, John B. Haskins, 
Richard O’Gorman, Smith Ely, George H. Purser, 
Daniel E. Delavan, Douglas Taylor, Charles Blauvelt, 
William D. Kennedy, John Cochran, Andre Froment, 
Col. Tom. Dunlap, John R. Briggs, Winthrop Chand¬ 
ler, Michael Connelly, the “Big Judge,” and what a 
host more that I can recall, as my mind reverts to that 





7 


valued part of memory’s storehouse. There were 
Giants in those days, most of whom, alas, have gone 
over to the great majority. How much he could tell 
of “Charlie'^ Halpin, and of his and our joint work 
with him in stirring up the political menagerie of that 
period. Of the well-devised schemes which rarely 
failed. Of the hallowed period of the Leader, that 
weekly disseminator of the Democratic law and gos¬ 
pel, under the dashing direction of that loyal and royal 
good-fellow, John Clancy—of Oakey Hall’s felicitous 
screeds therein, and of his influential part for so many 
years in the administration of justice in this county 
and in the general influential control of public opinion 
—of Henry Clapp’s sententious paragraphing—and 
George Arnold’s mellow poetry—of “Joe” Howard 
and his splendid “ Star” performances. 

The Leader was the organ and champion of Tam¬ 
many Hall; it had a brilliant staff of ambitious young 
men who did the political writing, including Mr. 
Clancy, Mr. Sweeny, Mr. Oakey Hall, Mr. Fisk, and 
others. When Mr. Clancy died, in 1863, Mr. Sweeny 
became its proprietor. The Citizen, established by 
Charles G. Halpin, “Miles O’Reilly,” to whom I have 
referred, Hon. R. B. Roosevelt, and others, was the 
opposition paper to Tammany Hall, maintaining the 
cause of municipal reform in aid of the efiflcient work 
of that grand old man, Peter Cooper, then at the head 
of the “Citizens Association,” the original reformatory 



8 


organization of municipal abuses—and laying the foun¬ 
dation of the County Democracy, which afterwards 
became so dominant in local affairs. I was what might 
be called a “high privateon the Citizen, where I 
enjoyed the rare felicity of having my full “say” on 
local affairs copiously and unobstructedly. No one can 
realize this satisfying condition unless he has been full, 
or thought himself full, of matter of serious public im¬ 
port and has had the opportunity of regular and con¬ 
spicuous vent. These rival weeklies maintained a 
very lively, often decidedly fierce and personal fight. 
Both papers were printed on the finest paper, with the 
best embellishment of typography, and edited with in¬ 
tense spirit, as well as good taste and high ability. 
They were very attractive in every department, and 
handsomely supported financially. The Citizen laid 
the foundation lor the municipal reform in 1870, and 
the fallow condition of the public ground for the over¬ 
turning in 1894 is measurably due to the deep plough¬ 
ing and seasonable planting of the People s Citizen of 
that memorable and formatory era. 

He could give a reviving recital of the sym¬ 
posiums at Windusts’ with him whom we loved to 
call “Bill” Kennedy, at the head of the table, the 
ever genial Edward Cooper enjoying his cigar, 
while discussing party measures with his broad, good 
sense—of Anson Herrick, of the Atlas; Judge 
Waterbury, Wm. Cauldwell. of the Mercury; 



9 


“Johnny” Richardson, and the other elect, who 
gathered words of wisdom from their host. My remi¬ 
niscent excursion has carried me further afield than I 
intended to wander. But history teaching by example 
would have, if my friend should draw on his memory, 
pen in hand, valued additions, showing how party or¬ 
ganizations were maintained, how they were sometimes 
overturned unexpectedly by skillful engineers—and 
many other things worth knowing by the rising genera¬ 
tion, who are to be our future leaders. How agreeably 
my friend could tell it all, if he would. I hope he may 
find the time and inclination. If this little pamphlet 
will do even the hundredth part of the good I would 
wish it to accomplish, it will be doing much, and I 
shall be repaid, to that extent at least, for my part 
in it. 

J. Y. S. 

New York, October 9, 1894. 


I 







SPECIAL. 


I have thought it fitting to print here^ as a special 
introdtiction to the accompanying papers^ a characteristic 
article from the pen of the elder James Gordon Bennett^ 
the fomtder of The Herald, referring to the voluntary 
surrender by Mr. Sweeny of the interest on the de¬ 
posits when he was City Chamberlainwhich had there¬ 
tofore been a legalized perquisite of the office. Published 
at that date. A faded copy of this article was found 
by me among my papers a few days ago. 

A BISMARCK IN NEW YORK CITY POLITICS.—THE GREAT¬ 
EST WONDER OF THE AGE. 

The voluntary renunciation by Peter B. Sweeny of 
the enormous profits pertaining to the position of City 
Chamberlain, in the shape of interest on the city de¬ 
posits, amounting to some two hundred thousand dol¬ 
lars a year, is one of the most extraordinary acts that 
we have ever been called upon to record on the part 
of a political office holder. For a number of years 
past the predecessors of the present Chamberlain, em¬ 
bracing such names as Cornelius W. and Joseph Law¬ 
rence, Shepard Knapp, Francis W. Edmonds, Robert 
Kelly, and Andrew V. Stout, have failed to allow to 



12 


the city one dollar of any sums they may have received 
from this source, and it has been estimated that for 
several years the item of interest that has gone into 
the Chamberlain’s pockets must have reached over 
one hundred and ninety thousand dollars annually. 

The Chamberlainship has consequently been justly 
regarded as the big plum of the city’s patronage, and 
a single year’s term as an ample fortune for any man 
of moderate ambition. When Peter B. Sweeny suc¬ 
ceeded in securing the great prize, it was supposed 
that he would make himself a millionaire out of the 
profits of the office before the expiration of his term ; 
but with a self-denial and a sublime courage never be¬ 
fore equalled he absolutely refuses to touch a dollar of 
the interest on the city deposits, and publicly an¬ 
nounces his intention to pay over the whole amount 
to the city treasury for the benefit of the taxpayers. 
“As a taxpayer,” says Chamberlain Sweeny, “I would 
not be satisfied that the custodian of the public mon¬ 
eys should reserve, however legally, to his own use, 
interest, or other advantages from such moneys which 
might be applied to the reduction of taxation. What 
I should feel as a taxpayer in such a case toward a 
public officer it is quite natural that the taxpayers 
should feel towards me in the same capacity under 
like circumstances ; and I am not willing to receive a 
great or any sum of money against the public sense of 
right, however legally justifiable.” 


In determining upon this disinterested and honora¬ 
ble course Chamberlain Sweeny stands forth as a per¬ 
fect Bismarck from the dirty pool of city politics. We 
have heretofore spoken of him as Peter Blatherskite 
Sweeny ; we henceforth distinguish him as Peter Bis¬ 
marck Sweeny, and by that title he shall hereafter be 
known. His act is not only creditable to himself, but 
it cannot fail to have a prodigious effect upon the 
j)ending election in the city and State, and to secure 
the triumph of the regular Democratic candidates on 
all the tickets. If this wonderful reform is to be the 
cue of the Tammany party in the future, we can have 
no objection to the success of the Tammany nominees 
throughout, including Hoffman for Mayor, in Decem¬ 
ber. The balderdash of some stupid journals about 
our personal quarrels with Hoffman is all nonsense. 
We know that he has no objection to the widening of 
Ann Street without a swindle any more than he has 
to the erection of the Park Bank without a public nuis¬ 
ance. If his party intend to follow the footsteps of 
their political Bismarck their ticket should receive one 
hundred thousand majority, no matter who the nomi¬ 
nees may be. It is in this light that Chamberlain 
Sweeny’s great letter, published on the eve of the elec¬ 
tion, may be regarded as a grand coup d'etat which en¬ 
tirely destroys the power of the enemy. Such a man 
as Fernando Wood would never have had the genius 
to conceive so complete a master stroke of policy. 


14 


Magnificent rascal as he is, his brain can grasp nothing 
greater than a ward bargain or an office holder’s pool, 
while Tammany Bismarck’s masterly move will have 
its effect all over the State. It marks the commence¬ 
ment of a new era in politics. It settles the Novem¬ 
ber and December elections in advance. It places 
Sweeny on a par with Cato, who scorned to enrich his 
house at the expense of his country. It lifts him to 
the level of Regulus and the Gracchi, and all the 
Roman patriots of old. It may give rise to a demand 
that he shall himself accept the office of Mayor of the 
city, and carry his reform into every department of the 
city government. But should he decline this honor he 
will at least stand forth as the great general of the 
Tammany forces, and henceforth any candidate will 
insure success by an enormous majority who fights 
under the banner and follows in the footsteps of Peter 
Bismarck Sweeny. 


INTERVIEW 


On the Subject of the Sinking Fund and Proposed 

I.egislation. 

From the New York Herald^ January 1886. 

-- 


THE CITY AND ITS CREDIT. 

A TALK WITH PETER B. SWEENY ON FINANCIAL OBLI¬ 
GATIONS.—GOVERNOR HILL CRITICISED.—THE PRO¬ 
POSED DISPOSITION OF THE SINKING FUND CON¬ 
DEMNED BY THE EX-CHAMBERLAIN. — MUNICIPAL 
BANKRUPTCY IMMINENT.—URGENT NEED FOR PRE¬ 
SERVING THE INTEGRITY OF THE SINKING FUND. 

There is no question so important to the present and fu¬ 
ture welfare of this city and its taxpayers as that having 
regard to the effect of the operations of its sinking fund, and 
whether the amount of the stock purchased by the Com¬ 
missioners of the Sinking Fund is to be considered as an 
existing indebtedness or as so much of the debt reduced. 
The anxiety on the subject has been accentuated in finan¬ 
cial circles by the recent message of Governor Hill to the 

/ 

Legislature recommending the passage of an act providing 
that there may be annually invested, for the erection of the 
public buildings now required and in the construction of 
docks, all the revenues of the sinking fund in each year in 
excess of $3,000,000. 



i6 


A reporter of the Herald called yesterday on Mr. Peter 
B. Sweeny to ascertain if he could throw any light on these 
vexed questions. He was found in the sitting-room of the 
residence of his brother-in-law, Mr. John J. Bradley, in 
Sixty-eighth Street, surrounded by a substantial library 
containing all the necessary books of reference for the pur¬ 
poses of the inquiry. 

Mr. Sweeny was asked if he had read the message of 
Governor Hill, and if he had any views that he would like 
to present on the subject. 

“Yes,” he said, “I have read Governor Hill’s message, 
and, naturally, having been a Commissioner of the Sinking 
Fund and familiar with the powers and duties appertain¬ 
ing to that trust, I have reflected on the subject and have 
formed a decided opinion. The suggestions of Governor 
Hill are only made to the Legislature for their considera¬ 
tion, and if it shall appear on investigation that the propos¬ 
ed measure is unconstitutional, impracticable, or unwise, no 
one needs to be told that the Governor will be the first to 
abandon it. 

“ If his plan could be adopted it would afford important 
and much needed relief, now that it is contended that our 
sinking fund is not what its name implies and universal 
precedent and usage establish, but a fund to absorb the 
revenues of the city and prevent the reduction of the debt, 
keeping that debt perpetually afloat at high water mark 
until the whole debt is paid ; but I am afraid there are in¬ 
superable objections to the Governor’s project. I express 
my views, however, in opposition to such high authority 
with great deference and diffidence. Tampering with trust 
moneys is a serious matter.” 


OBJECTIONS TO THE SCHEME. 

“ What are the objections to the scheme ” 

“ The first objection is as to its constitutionality. The 
laws and ordinances establishing- the sinking fund consti¬ 
tute the authority and declare the conditions and stipula¬ 
tions under which the existing bonded indebtedness has 
been incurred, and form the contract for the protection of 
the bondholders. 

“ By these laws and ordinances the revenues proposed 
to be diverted are ‘ irrevocably ’ pledged for the security 
and payment of the city debt until its final redemption. 
The language employed for this purpose is unqualified and 
emphatic. Here is a copy of the original ordinance, adopt¬ 
ed in 1813, founding the sinking fund. You will perceive 
that the revenues appropriated are ‘ firmly and inviolably 
pledged, appropriated, and applied, and shall constitute and 
form the fund for the redemption of the debt,’ in the man¬ 
ner provided, until the final redemption of the whole stock. 
This is the uniform language of all the ordinances adopted 
on the subject down to 1845, when the language is varied 
so as to declare that the moneys received from the revenues 
devoted to the sinking fund are thereby pledged, appropri¬ 
ated, and shall constitute and form a fund called the sink¬ 
ing fund of the city of New York, for the redemption of the 
city debt, until the whole of the stocks of the city of New 
York shall be finally and fully redeemed. This is the con¬ 
tract and pledge. 

“ The purposes to which these revenues are to be applied 
are specially declared ; the Commissioners are directed 
to invest all the moneys which constitute the sinking fund, 
or so much as they can, in the purchase of stocks created 


i8 

by the corporation, at the market price, at par if they can ; 
if they cannot so purchase they are authorized to invest 
such moneys or such part as they may see fit in the pur¬ 
chase of such stock above par, or in the purchase of stock 
of the State of New York, or of the United States, but it is 
made imperative to give a preference to city stock ; and if 
any investment is made in stocks of the State or United 
States, and they are enabled to purchase any of the city 
stocks at such prices as they may think best for the public 
interest, they are required forthwith to sell and dispose of 
such State and United States stocks and invest the pro¬ 
ceeds in such city stock. The investment of such revenues 
in the purchase and reduction of the outstanding indebted¬ 
ness of the city is the paramount and constant object of the 
trust. I have gone so fully into these details to show with 
what minute care the revenues are devoted to reducing the 
city’s indebtedness. Can the assets which are thus solemnly 
and irrevocably pledged and form the security of the stock¬ 
holders be absolutely and vitally changed by act of the 
Legislature ? If they can be diverted in part they can be 
diverted in whole. It is the principle that is involved. 

WHAT THE PROPOSAL MEANS. 

“The proposition is, that all these revenues accruing in 
each year except $3,000,000 shall be applied to other pur¬ 
poses than those provided in the contract. Next year 
there may be further encroachments by the Legislature un¬ 
der a new necessity or without necessity, under other pro¬ 
posed security or no security, and the fund will be still 
further reduced, and in the end there will be no sinking 
fund left.” 


19 


( 


“ Will not the sinking fund, in the end, become the mere 
football of corporation schemes ? ” 

“It is no justification that the proposed investment is 
claimed to be just as good as that provided by the trust. 
It is enough to say that it is a violation and nullification of 
the solemn contract and obligation made with the stock¬ 
holders. I he Constitution of the United States prohibits 
this very thing. No State has the right to pass a law im¬ 
pairing the obligation of a contract. 

“ But let us go a step further. Is the proposed mode of 
investment as advantageous as that established for the 
sinking fund } The moneys thus sought to be taken from 
their pledged purpose are to be used in the erection of public 
buildings, such as school-houses and armories, on public 
property, or property to be acquired by the municipality— 
upon which buildings and structures, as well as upon the 
property upon which they may be erected, the Commis¬ 
sioners of the Sinking Fund are to retain a first or preferred 
lien—and three per cent, interest on the amount thus 
diverted is to be raised by taxation, and it is to be made 
obligatory on the municipality to keep the buildings and 
structures in good repair. 

“ Armories and modern school-houses are very costly 
buildings—they are specially adapted to the purposes of 
their construction, but they are not fitted to any other gen¬ 
eral purpose. If it should become necessary to recoup the 
sinking fund by the sale of school-buildings or armories, 
would there be any probability that the amount invested in 
construction would be realized t I think not. If the public 
buildings are constructed on public property, parks, or 
places, are such parts of the parks and places to be sold, in 
the necessity contemplated, to private individuals } I will 


20 


not dwell on the question. As to the docks, other and 
obvious complications would arise in the practical opera¬ 
tion of the scheme. 

BESET WITH DIFFICULTY. 

/ 

“Another view. This measure is proposed in order to 
overcome the present constitutional impossibility of the city 
incurring further indebtedness, and yet here is a specific 
proposition that the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund 
shall invest, by the way of a loan to the city—if it means 
anything—the proposed proportion of the revenues of the 
sinking fund in each year, to be employed by the corporate 
authorities in the purchase of land, erection of buildings 
and construction of docks, and to secure this investment 
the Commissioners are to have and retain the first or pre¬ 
ferred lien on the land, buildings, and docks, to be fore¬ 
closed if necessary. Is not this, palpably, incurring indebt¬ 
edness by the lienor—the city ? Then how does the project 
help the difficulty ? 

“Again, if it should be ultimately held that the stock of 
the city purchased by the Commissioners of the Sinking 
Fund and held in their possession, is in fact redeemed, and 
the city’s indebtedness correspondingly reduced, this pro- 
/! ject would, by diverting the revenues, prevent the regular 

reduction of the indebtedness. The passage of the pro- 
posed law would certainly lead to litigation, and, as I am 
apprehensive, only add to the complexity and perplexity 
of the existing financial confusion. 

I' “ These are some of the objections that occur to me. 

1 / They might be elaborated, but the limits of an interview 

V will not permit of such elaboration. 

i/ “This trust has stood for seventy-three years, protected 



V 


21 


by city and State. Every safeguard that ingenuity could 
suggest has been thrown around it, and it has stood intact, 
inviolable, and impregnable. No attempt has hitherto 
been made to lay hands upon it, and I trust now it will be 
agreed that it shall be sacredly preserved.” 

“ If the contention that the thirty-four millions of stock 
in the sinking fund does not reduce the city's indebted¬ 
ness,” asked the reporter, “ is upheld, what remedy is there 
to enable the city to go on with the necessary expenditures 
and improvements .^” 

“ In the event you mention, I do not see any remedy but a 
constitutional amendment;—substantially in these words: 

“ ‘ In ascertaining the indebtedness of any county or city 
of over one hundred thousand inhabitants, in accordance 
with the amendment to the Constitution which went into 
operation on the first of January, 1885, there shall be de¬ 
ducted from time to time the amount of the stock or bonds 
purchased from its revenues or resources and actually in 
its possession or of the Commissioners of its Sinking 
Fund.’ 

“ In other words, so much of a city’s debt as it has paid 
from its assets shall not be considered as an outstanding 
indebtedness. The very statement of the proposition 
seems to present a strong argument against the contention 
urged in the pending litigation. 

“But the adoption of such an amendment would con¬ 
sume three years. It would req'^^^^ sanction of two 
Legislatures and the approval of the people at a subse¬ 
quent general election. In the meantime the finances of 
the city may reach a calamitous condition, as I will ex¬ 
plain. And in the year 1887, under the necessity of pro¬ 
viding for maturing stock indebtedness by taxation, there 


4 


22 


may not be realized from the tax levy, in addition, much 
more than would be required for what Mayor Grace, in his 
recent comprehensive message, calls mandatory appropria¬ 
tions, and leaving a condition of difficulty in finding suffi¬ 
cient means for the support of the public schools. Fire De¬ 
partment, and general city requirements. That is, if no 
relief is found from the operation of the sinking fund.” 

OBLIGATIONS OF THE CITY. 

“ Have you any views,” asked the reporter, “ in regard 
to the question now before the courts as to the $34,000,000 
of stock paid off and in possession of the Commissioners of 
the Sinking Fund .^” 

“ Yes, I have. I believe that the bonds purchased by 
the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund from the city’s 
revenues and held by them are redeemed according to the 
scheme of the sinking fund, and that the indebtedness of 
the city is reduced to that extent. 

“ That what the city has paid it don’t owe. It would 
certainly be an anomalous condition if the assets of an in¬ 
dividual or corporation actually applied to the payment or 
taking up of his or its obligations and the obligations held 
in actual possession of the debtor or his representatives 
should not be taken to reduce his or its indebtedness in re¬ 
gard to such obligations. 

“ The difficulty seems to have arisen from the provision 
of the ordinances of the sinking fund preventing the can¬ 
cellation of the purchased stock and requiring it to be held 
by the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund until the final 
redemption of the stock. It is argued that the stock thus 
purchased and reduced to possession remains in full force 
against the city until the whole series of the stock of the 


23 


city are redeemed to the last bond, and then redemption 
will extend to all the indebtedness ; that there is no such 
thing as partial or progressive redemption. Mr. C. E. Miller, 
representing the city, forcibly puts the effect of the propo¬ 
sition. He says : ‘According to this theory, if the Com¬ 
missioners had purchased and redeemed all the outstanding 
stock except one of $i,ooo, the city’s indebtedness would 
not be diminished one jot.’ 

“ It appears to me that there is a very plain way of solving 
this question, and that is to go to the foundation of the 
scheme of the city’s sinking fund and ascertain the purpose 
for which the fund was established, and how far that pur¬ 
pose has been continued. This journey will be found very 
profitable and will enable the investigator to discover the 
clew and key to the entire situation. It will, I think, fur¬ 
nish an unmistakable solution of the problem. 

“ The sinking fund of this city was established by an 
ordinance of the Common Council adopted in 1813 in pur¬ 
suance of previous legislative authority. The ordinance is 
very carefully and skillfully drawn, and is evidently 
modeled in accordance with established precedents and 
the principles of sinking funds adopted by other govern¬ 
ments and corporations. The objects for which the sinking 
fund was established are set forth in the preamble to the 
ordinance with clearness and precision. It is short and 
strong and should be quoted in its entirety. It is as 
follows :— 

“ ‘ Whereas it is highly useful to establish a fund out of 
which purchases of the New York City stock may from 
time to time be made whenever the same can be done at 
par or the true value thereof, whereby the said stock will 
be prevented from depreciating and the redemption of the 
same will be regularly progressing.’ 


24 


“ This preamble, in the very words, was adopted again 
in 1817 as part of an ordinance ‘making further provision 
for the redemption of the New York City stock, also to 
similar ordinances in 1820, 1823, and in 1827. The ordi¬ 
nances adopted since the last-mentioned date do not vary 
the general tenor of the objects to be accomplished by the 
sinking fund. These objects having been declared on five 
different occasions during a period of fourteen years, it was 
apparently deemed unnecessary to continue their reitera¬ 
tion. The scheme continued the same. It is not claimed 
that it has changed in principle, substance, or material form 
from that 'wdiich it was, as originally conceived and ex¬ 
pressed by its founders. 

THE OBJECT OF THE FUND. 

“ In fact, in all the ordinances, from beginning to end, 
the same language is almost entirely employed. As you 
will see, there were two great objects to be accomplished :— 

^^First —To prevent the depreciation of the city stock. 

^\Seco?id —To provide for the ‘regular and progressive 
redemption of the stock ’ by purchases from time to time 
when the same could be made. 

“ Does this language leave any room for doubt as to its 
meaning } The mode in detail by which this ‘ regular and 
progressive redemption’is to be accomplished is identical 
in all the ordinances. 

“ In the ordinance of 1813 certain specified revenues are 
declared to be pledged, appropriated to, and shall con¬ 
stitute the sinking fund ‘ for the purpose aforesaid ’—that is, 
the purpose expressed in the preamble—its continued and 
advancing redemption until the final redemption of the 
whole stock. 


25 


“ There are the same provisions in this ordinance as to 
‘ investment by purchase,’ and the very provisions which 
furnish the grounds for the present contention—that in¬ 
terest on the stock purchased shall continue to be paid by 
the city to the fund, and that the stock purchased shall be 
held until the final redemption of the city stock—which 
run through all the ordinances. 

“ Much stress is laid on the fact that the words employed 
in the several ordinances are ‘ shall be invested in the pur¬ 
chase,’ instead of ‘ redeemed,’ but that is the mode provided 
from the beginning for the regular and progressive redemp¬ 
tion, and the use of this language is expressed over and 
over again to have that office. Webster defines the word 
‘ redeem’ to mean ‘ to purchase back—to regain possession 
by the payment of a stipulated sum.’ The word ‘ purchase,’ 
therefore, both in its authoritative meaning and its declared 
object, from the inception of the fund, means in the context 
of the ordinance ‘ redeem.’ 

“Now, how can a process be considered as going on 
regularly that never takes the first step, or as progressing 
that never begins ? In fact, to sustain the position that 
there is no redemption of the debt until all the stock is 
purchased from the beginning to the end, to the final dol¬ 
lar, it is necessary to nullify the declared object of the trust 
and to assume the very opposite of its clearly expressed 
purpose. A Court might with the same propriety disre¬ 
gard the recitals in a trust deed and adjudge the trust to 
be contrary to its terms. That is not the province or func¬ 
tion of a judicial tribunal. 

“ It is contended that the Commissioners of the Sinking 
Fund are, in effect, the owners of the revenues appropriated 
to the fund and of the bonds purchased, to be held until 


26 


the last bond of the last series in the last year is paid, and 
then, and then only, is a single dollar of stock to be held 
redeemed or a single dollar of the debt diminished. To 
sustain this theory of ownership the provision requiring in¬ 
terest to be paid on the purchased stock is cited as proving 
the proposition. But the argument works the other way. 
If the Commissioners held the stock, as owners, it would 
not have been necessary to provide that interest should be 
paid—the obligation to pay interest would have followed 
the bond—and it is nowhere provided that the principal of 
the stock should be paid to the Commissioners at the ma¬ 
turity of the obligations. The direction to pay interest on 
the stock was simply to legitimately charge the particular 
transaction for which it was issued, to keep up the rev¬ 
enues, and as a matter of correct accounting. 

WHAT THE ORDINANCES SAY. 

“ It will also be seen as bearing on the question that in 
all the ordinances the proceeds of the revenues of the fund 
are treated as city moneys. It is provided in each of them 
that all these moneys shall be deposited in the treasury of 
the city, to be kept separate from ‘ the other moneys of the 
corporation,’ but subject to the draft of the Commissioners. 
The whole business of the Sinking Fund is a matter of 
bookkeeping in the Finance Department, and the manage¬ 
ment of the fund is practically with the Comptroller. 

“The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund are now 
charged with many other duties than those appertaining to 
city stocks, imposed from time to time by acts and ordi¬ 
nances. Their duties in regard to the sinking fund are to 
exercise their discretion as to the time and manner of pur¬ 
chasing city stocks, and to see to it that no more than the 
fair market price is paid whenever they are purchased. 


27 


“ Much of the difficulty in construing the ordinances in 
question appears to have arisen from confusing the cancel¬ 
lation of the stock with its redemption. They are very dif¬ 
ferent things. There can be no cancellation until there is 
redemption. Blackstone defines ‘ cancel ’ to mean ‘ to cross 
or deface the lines of a writing, to blot out or obliterate.’ 
The fact that the stock is not to be cancelled does not 
militate against the proposition that it is redeemed under 
the provisions of the sinking fund when it is bought and 
taken into possession. There are good reasons for not 
cancelling the stock when redeemed. If it should be con¬ 
tended that any of the stock purchased for redemption had 
been forged or fraudulently obtained the existence and 
production of the stock itself might be of the first im¬ 
portance; or if any forged or fraudulent stock were pre¬ 
sented for interest or redemption, where in fact the Com¬ 
missioners had purchased the genuine stock, the production 
of the true obligation would be a necessity. 

“That the stock purchased and held by the Commis¬ 
sioners is redeemed, has received legislature sanction and 
support. In 1873 an act was passed providing that ‘ it shall 
be lawful for the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the 
City of New York, in their discretion, and they are hereby 
empowered in such discretion, to cancel any part of the 
indebtedness of the said city held by them.’ Under this 
authority the Commissioners could have cancelled all the 
stock held by them, but, in fact, only $6,000,000 of the 
stock was cancelled. If the position now taken, that no 
portion of the stock shall be held redeemed until it is all 
redeemed is sustained, will not the amount of the stock 
thus cancelled need to be restored to the sinking fund ? 

“Sinking funds, in all times and in all countries since 


28 


their origin, have been funds to which revenues or accruing 
moneys are appropriated for the purpose of regularly lower¬ 
ing and reducing the debt to which they are applied by pro¬ 
gressive processes according to means and opportunities. 
This is the character of the English sinking fund ; it is 
employed in the regular ‘ diminution ’ of the debt ; and it is 
the case also with the sinking fund of the United States. 
If the principle now sought to be maintained were applied 
to the United States we would be owing now the entire 
and enormous debt which existed after the war, notwith¬ 
standing the prodigious amounts which have been regularly 
and progressively applied to its redemption. It should be 
here remarked that to carry out the argument of the plain¬ 
tiffs in the action now before the courts, that no portion 
of the debt is to be considered redeemed until all the stock 
issued by the city is fully and finally redeemed, to its 
legitimate extent, the city owes for all the stock that has 
been issued since 1813—and the indebtedness, instead of 
being $ 1 26,ooo,ocX), would be nearer $400,000,000, or per¬ 
haps more—I have not the figures, for the city has never 
been out of debt on its stock from the time the fund was 
formed—has had one series of stock overlapping another, 
so that there has always been stock outstanding and 
uncancelled. 


THE ALLEGED JUSTIFICATION. 

“ There has been careless and inconsiderate municipal 
legislation in latter years in regard to the sinking fund, but 
I think it can all be reconciled with the great purpose of 
the trust. The strongest reliance in sustaining the con¬ 
tention under consideration rests on a provision of the 
ordinance of 1845, authorizing the Commissioners of the 


29 


Sinking Fund to ‘exchange’ stock which they have pur¬ 
chased for other city stock, which by its terms shall be re¬ 
deemable at an earlier period, if in their opinion such 
exchange shall be desirable and beneficial to the public 
interests, and for the purpose of the exchange they are 
authorized to sell the first purchased stock. If this detail, 
not a part of the original plan, were inconsistent with the 
plain purpose of the trust, it would, of course, have to give 
way, upon well settled principles of construction—and 
could be disregarded. But I do not think that this pro¬ 
vision operates to the prejudice of the position I take. 
Banks redeem their obligations and issue them again, and 
railroad corporations, not infrequently, under special pro¬ 
visions of their charters, after they have purchased matur¬ 
ing obligations of one series, sell them again to purchase 
obligations of a more pressing series. But when obligations 
are redeemed and held by such corporations, who would 
pretend that its indebtedness is not reduced to that extent ? 

“ Now, keeping in view the purpose of the sinking fund— 
the regular redemption of its debt—there is no difficulty in 
this case. Suppose the section in question read that the 
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund may exchange any of 
the stock not matured that they have redeemed for other 
stock maturing earlier, if in their opinion it would be bene¬ 
ficial to the public interests. The stock first redeemed had 
reduced the city’s indebtedness to that extent, and the ex¬ 
changed stock would take its place. It is not difficult to 
see that this arrangement for first maturing stock bears out 
my views, but I will not elaborate the idea. The point I 
make simply is, that the debt of the city can only be ascer¬ 
tained by deducting at any given time the amount of stock 
originally representing its indebtedness which has been 


6 


30 


redeemed and taken up and is held in possession by those 
whose duty it is to secure the ‘ regular and progressive ’ 
redemption of the debt. 

PERMANENCE OF THE FUND. 

“ Finally, it is said that if the stock thus held is deducted 
from the amount of the total stock indebtedness there is an 
end of the sinking fund. But that is not so ; the revenues 
will continue to accrue to the fund and the duties of the 
Commissioners will go on. The annual revenues are, I 
believe, about $7,000,000 and constantly increasing, and it 
is estimated that in thirty years the entire city debt will be 
extinguished, with all needful new stock issues, if the rev¬ 
enues pledged and consecrated to the redemption of the 
debt continue to be applied, and I do not see how they can 
be constitutionally diverted. 

“ It should here be remarked that some of the large stock 
debts are specially secured, in addition to that provided by 
the sinking fund. It would seem, therefore, that on prin¬ 
ciple and by analogy, as well as by the express terms of 
trust applicable to the sinking fund of the city, its indebt¬ 
edness has been regularly and progressively reduced to 
the extent of $34,000,000, the amount to which the Com¬ 
missioners of the fund have redeemed the obligations of 
the city from its assets and are now holding them in pos¬ 
session, and that therefore the indebtedness of the city is 
only $92,000,000, instead of $126,000,000 as claimed. 

A CRITICAL OUTLOOK. 

“ Let US see what is the financial outlook of the city of 
New York if the stock redeemed is not to be counted in as¬ 
certaining the city’s indebtedness. 


31 


“ The recent amendment to the constitution prohibits an 
indebtedness by any county or city of over one hundred 
thousand inhabitants which shall exceed ten per cent, of 
the assessed valuation of the real estate of such county or 
city subject to taxation, and no county or city whose in¬ 
debtedness when the amendment went into effect—January 
I, 1885 — shall exceed such limitation, shall be allowed to 
ecome indeb*ced in any further amount until such indebt¬ 
edness shall be reduced within such limit. The amount of 
the indebtedness of the city when this amendment became 
operative, not deducting the stock redeemed, was $126,- 
at which figure it now stands. The assessed val¬ 
uation of the real estate for 1885 was $1,168,443,137, which 
limits the indebtedness to $116,844,313. 

Consequently the city is now owing about $10,000,000 
in excess of the constitutional limit, which must be paid 
before the city can increase its indebtedness. There will fall 
due of the present indebtedness in 1886, $3,654,959, and in 
1887, $11,372,671. There are also the expenditures for the 
new Croton aqueduct and works, which are specially al¬ 
lowed to be incurred, but which, when incurred, will add to 
the indebtedness ; this in the next two years will probably 
be $6,000,000 more. Then there are the six millions of 
stock cancelled under the act of 1873, which are to be reck¬ 
oned with if the contention in question is sustained. As 
no new stock can be issued until the excess of indebted¬ 
ness is paid off, in 1887 a large part of the $11,000,000 of 
debt accruing will have to be included in the tax for that 
year, if the proposed legislation is adopted, perhaps any¬ 
way. Under the constitutional limitation as to taxation 
the total amount which can be imposed in 1887 will not 
probably exceed $35,000,000—over $22,000,000 per an- 


32 


num of charges are mandatory, by legislative command, and 
must be included in the tax levy. The expenses of the 
police are included in such mandatory charges, but where 
is the money to come from for the other necessary expenses 
of the city government, such as the Public Schools, Fire 
Department, Streets, Public Works, &c. ? Is not the danger 
one of considerable magnitude ? 

“ If, however, the amount of debt paid by the sinking 
fund is deducted from the total indebtedness, all is plain 
sailing—with a wide margin. The needed new buildings 
to adequately provide school accommodations can be 
erected, new armories constructed, our docks put in condi¬ 
tion to meet our commercial necessities, the streets can be 
properly paved, the additional new parks provided before 
the rise in real estate will make that purpose an impossi¬ 
bility, and the development and prosperity of our city will 
go on unobstructed. All these objects can be accomplished 
by the issue of stock payable in the future with abundant 
and increasing revenues provided to meet the debt as it will 
come due, and our annual taxation will be reduced in¬ 
stead of being augmented for objects of a permanent char¬ 
acter. 

“ I feel sure that our courts will not upon any false idea 
give a strained or dexterous construction to the laws and 
ordinances they are to consider in deciding this important 
issue, by which the overpowering difficulty which is upon 
our city will be perpetuated, but that they will give effect 
to the plain terms as well as the spirit and purpose of the 
trust in its origin and its consistent existence, and that if 
any ingenuity is to be exercised it will be exerted to avert 
a very grave peril.” 


33 


New York Herald, }^r\\\ 7 {ry 24, 1886. 

EDITORIAL COMMENT. 

WHAT IS NEW YORK GOING TO DO ABOUT IT } 

In our local columns will be found an interview of great 
interest to every taxpayer and bondholder of this city. 

It is an interview with Mr. Peter B. Sweeny, discussing 
the proposed disposition of the sinking fund as recom¬ 
mended by Governor Hill in his recent message to the 
Legislature. 

Mr. Sweeny radically differs from the Governor, and 
offers exhaustive arguments to prove that the Governor’s 
recommendation is one calculated to do infinite mischief 
by tampering with trust moneys solemnly and irrevocably 
pledged as security to the city’s bondholders to the re¬ 
demption of the city’s debt. Mr. Sweeny points out the 
danger that threatens the city’s credit if the Legislature is 
once permitted to divert any of the trust funds to uses 
other than those for which they were sacredly appropri¬ 
ated, a course which once begun would speedily lead to 
further encroachments by successive Legislatures, contin¬ 
ued reduction of the bondholder’s security, and in the im¬ 
mediate future perhaps bring disaster and bankruptcy to 
the city of New York. 

Mr. Sweeny’s intimate knowledge of the city finances, 
and of the sinking fund in particular, of which he was long 
one of the Commissioners, will cause this interview to be 
read with deep interest by financiers generally and will 


34 


appeal with special force to the holders of $92,000,000 of 
the city’s indebtedness. If Mr. Sweeny is right their hold¬ 
ings are in absolute and immediate peril if Governor Hill’s 
suggestion to the Legislature is carried out by that honor¬ 
able body. 

The politicians of the county and the State, also, will 
read this interview with interest. They will seek, not for 
Mr. Sweeny’s financial, but what they imagine is his po¬ 
litical, meaning in what he says. Once so powerful and 
absolute a party leader and long an absentee, they will 
nervously imagine they see much between the lines in this 
the first important interview had with him since his return 
to New York. They will imagine it is the entering wedge 
to his return to politics. They will say he had a political 
object in the time he selected for his return and the man 
whose opinions he has chosen to combat. The political 
circumstances of the hour are, it is true, peculiarly calcu¬ 
lated to give color to their fears. Tammany’s late “ Boss” 
has been deposed and the Hall is without a leader ; the 
County Democracy has been routed at the late election 
and its chief has lost his power ; the local Democracy are 
divided, seeking for union and unable to agree upon a 
leader from either faction. Upon such a scene Mr. 
Sweeny appears. He finds a lately successful Democratic 
Governor dominating the situation, and that man he meets 
and combats on his proposition to tamper with New York’s 
trust funds. 

Perhaps it would not be so curious after all should the 
politicians ask each other, “What does Mr. Sweeny really 
mean when he talks about New York finances 


35 


This dissertation of Mr. Sweeny was followed by in¬ 
terviews in the Herald, for the ensuing ten days, by 

Bankers, Merchants, Lawyers, Politicians, and promi¬ 
nent men generally, discussing its merits—and by edi' 

torials on these developments of public opinion. I can only 
afford space for brief extracts from a portion of the ex¬ 
pressed views of these substantial citizens. The General 
Teimi of the Court of Common Pleas sustained the judg¬ 
ment oj the Special Term, holding that the bonds of the 
City that had been acquired by the Commissioners of the 
Sinking Fund from the revenues of the city, could not 
be deducted from the total of the debt, as so much thereof 
paid, but were continuing outstanding liabilities until 
the whole debt should be paid—constituting an additional 
security. Consequently the debt creating power was far 
exceeded, and no further debt could be incurred until the 
excess zuas extinguished. 

There was a general disposition on the part of the 
Municipal authorities to recognize this decision as sound, 
and to acquiesce therein; hence the proposition emanat- 
ing from them to have a law passed allcnving them to 
use, for permanent purposes, a part of the revenues 
pledged for the redemption of the debt. The effect of 
Mr. Sweeny s contention was, that the decision of the 
Common Pleas was appealed to the Court oj Appeals, 
which Court reversed the judgment of the lower Court on 
the lines of Mr. Sweeny s interview, thus wipuig out 
$y/f,ooo 000 of the claimed debt. If the decision of the 




3 ^ 


Court of Coimnon Pleas had not beeji appealedfrom, or 
had bee 7 i sustained by the higher Court, the result woidd 
have put an end to indispensable public improvements 
for a long time—improvements of an enduring character 
—propeidy matters of debt and not of current taxation — 
such as Public Parks and their development, School 
houses, Police and Fire Stations, Armories, and the like. 
Another consequence would have been excessive annual 
taxation, and zvhen the constitutional limit of taxation 
was reached the city would be without needed improve¬ 
ments for proper Municipal development or be compelled 
to incur an indebtedness which the city treasury could 
not meet—a condition of practical bankruptcy. 

From some of the interviews of prominent men who 
expressed their views regarding Mr. Sweeny’s consid¬ 
eration of the financial dilemma, I make the following 
extracts : 

That distinguished citizen, the late Wilson G. Hunt, 
said in part: 

“ I have read the interview with Mr. Sweeny on the Sink¬ 
ing Fund Commission, and I can say with great confidence 
that on the general question I entirely agree with him. 
* * * I have known Mr. Sweeny a great many years, 

and think he speaks on this subject with authority, because 
he knows all about it.” 

Hon. Noah Davis, then Chief Justice of the Su¬ 
preme Court,—who was the presiding Judge at the 
“ Ring trials,”—said : 




37 


“ I have not had an opportunity to read to-day, with 
care, the interview with Mr. Sweeny on this question of the 
Sinking Fund. I know, however, this, that everything that 
Mr. Sweeny says on that subject should be received with 
great respect, for there is probably no man in the city who 
has so large and accurate a knowledge of the question as 
Mr. Sweeny. Speaking generally, and without having 
made any examination of the controversy, I may say that 
it has always been my judgment that the principle set forth 
by Mr. Sweeny is good both in law and equity. * * * 

I presume that this will be regarded by many of Mr. 
Sweeny political associates as an indication of his desire 
to again take part in local politics. That is a matter I 
should think entirely within Mr. Sweeny’s discretion. He 
is a man of great intelligence, possessing a large and valu¬ 
able knowledge of the affairs of the city, and should he re¬ 
turn to take again a prominent part in the management of 
the local government, I don’t know that any impediment 
would be thrown iu his way.” 

Jesse Seligman, the banker : 

“Read the important portions of Mr. Sweeny’s state¬ 
ments with care, and then unhesitatingly declared his be¬ 
lief in the justice and propriety of Mr. Sweeny’s position. 
The money of the Sinking Fund of the city should not be 
tampered with under any circumstances.” * * * 

William M. Bliss, President of the Central National 
Bank : 

“ Without pretending to have made a study of the inter¬ 
esting and important questions discussed by Mr. Sweeny, 
I venture to say that any legislation to divert moneys from 


6 


38 


the Sinking Fund for such uses as would lower the security 
of the fund for the city’s creditors would be unconstitu¬ 
tional. I am also inclined to indorse his argument that the 
bonds redeemed by the Sinking Fund should be cancelled 
and stricken from the list of the city’s liabilities.” * * * 

F. H. Parker, Esq., President of the Produce Ex¬ 
change Bank : 

“ I am inclined to agree with Mr. Sweeny in his opposi- 
ion to invading the funds.” * * * 

John H. Watson, Esq., President of the Columbia 
Bank, said: 

“It seemed to him that to turn Sinking Fund moneys 
into city improvements would be like converting gold into 
silver at par.” * * * 

William P. St. John : 

* * * “ We bankers look with disfavor on any project 

to make use of the Sinking Fund for current expenses of 
the city or for public improvements of any kind. So far 
we are prejudiced in favor of Mr. Sweeny’s opposition to 
the scheme recommended by Governor Hill. Again, it 
would seem, off-hand, that when the bonds of the city are 
bought in by the Sinking Fund for the city or with the 
money raised by taxation, they should be cancelled.” * * * 

Henry H. Anderson, Esq., the eminent lawyer : 

“ I read the interview with Mr. Sweeny published in the 
Herald^ on Sunday last, on the Sinking Fund Commis¬ 
sion, and I regard it as a very able statement, as any- 


39 


thing coming from Mr. Sweeny would certainly be. I re¬ 
gard Mr. Sweeny as pre-eminently competent to talk on 
that question. * * * As to the principle laid down in the 
interview—that the $34,000,000 should not be regarded as 
a part of the city debt—I thoroughly agree with it. I am 
also opposed to the suggestion of Governor Hill. I think 
to carry that out would open a door difficult to close and 
originate difficulties that would become very formida¬ 
ble." * * * 

President Coleman, of the Tax Department: 

* * * “I will say, however, if the decision of the lower 
Courts is sustained and no relief given by the Legislature, 
the sums provided by the Legislature will in a short time 
take away seventy-five per cent, of the amount that will be 
allowed to be raised under the limit. Local improvements 
of a large scale will suffer, having no money available." * * 

Mayor Grace, City Chamberlain Ivins, and ex- 
Comptroller Campbell gave interviews sustaining the 
decision of the Court of Common Pleas and approving 
of the proposed legislation. There were over 40 other 
interviews on the subject published in the Herald at 
that that time—but these must suffice. 




(y. V. World, October 14, 1889.) 

“AS TOLD BY PETER B. SWEENY.” 

HIS ACCOUNT OF MAYOR A. OAKEY HALL AND THE RING.— 
HOW NEARLY MR. OTTENDORFER CAME TO BE MAYOR 
IN THE TWEED DAYS.—INCIDENTALLY A DEFENCE 
OF HIMSELF AND SOME QUEER RECOLLECTIONS.— 
A BOLD INTIMATION ABOUT SAMUEL J. TILDEN, WHO, 
HOWEVER, CANNOT NOW REPLY.—MR. SWEENY SAYS 
HE HAS NOT ANY INTENTION OF RE-ENTERING 
POLITICAL LIFE. 

“ In accordance with instructions a World reporter called 
yesterday at No. 41 East Sixty-eighth Street, to ask an 
interview on certain recent publications with Mr. Peter B. 
Sweeny, who has just returned to his city residence for the 
Winter season. Mr. Sweeny received the reporter in his 
sleeping and working room, in which a bed, a large table 
covered with papers of a formidable legal aspect, and a 
choice selection of books constitute the chief articles of 
furniture. The former Democratic leader is of medium 
height, solidly built, with a good-shaped head liberally 
covered with thick black hair, showing a sprinkling of the 
gray dust of time, a bright, clear eye, a sallow complexion, 
bronzed to a healthy ruddiness by the sun, a short, heavy 
mustache, and an expressive mouth capable of forming 
itself into a peculiarly pleasant smile or into one of cynical 
bitterness. Mr. Sweeny was dressed in a plain gray suit 
and carpet slippers, evidently not expecting visitors. Time 
has dealt lightly with the ex-Sachem, and to see him with 


42 


his old surroundings one might well imagine that he was 
still presiding over the City Chamberlain’s office or the Park 
Commission, and that the scythe of old Father Time had 
moved backward, cutting out the record of by-gone history 
—the past twenty years with all their troublous excite¬ 
ments, and carrying us back to the days when John T. 
Hoffman sat in the chair of State in Albany, and Oakey 
Hall, in a green swallow-tail coat, reviewed the St. Patrick’s 
Day parade from the steps of the City Hall, over the dome 
of which a little more than a year and a half ago Mayor 
Hewitt refused to allow the Irish flag to float for a single 
day. Courteously inviting the reporter to a seat on one 
side of the large table opposite to his own, Mr. Sweeny 
requested to know what he could do for The World. He 
was told that recent lively comments on his own alleged 
connection with the ‘ ring frauds ’ of eighteen or twenty 
years^ago, together with the suit just brought against Mr. 
Bryce by ex-Mayor A. Oakey Hall, in London, seemed to 
give the old scandal a sort of revival and make it in a 
manner an international affair. Hence The World desired 
to know whether Mr. Sweeny wished to say anything on 
the subject. 

‘‘I do not believe in libel suits,” said Mr. Sweeny, “but 
the revival by Mr. Bryce of the charges against Mr. Hall 
in disregard of the public record, in the deliberate and per¬ 
manent form of a book, so many years after complete ex¬ 
culpation, is severely malevolent and presents an extreme 
case. Mr. Hall is on the soil where this libel was set in 
motion and where its author resides. He has, therefore, 
his remedy at the appropriate place within his reach. If 
there is anything in the boasted English regard for justice 
and fair play, Mr. Hall will be awarded damages commen- 


43 


surate with the wantonness of the attack. In my own case 
I do not think that any recent attacks require notice. 
Their purpose and malice are so apparent that they over¬ 
reach themselves. I do not believe that they have produced 
any alarming condition. At all events, I do not find that I 
have lost any credit or friends in consequence. After seven 
years of the closest investigation I was publicly exonerated 
in open court from any imputation in connection with the 
‘ ring frauds,’ and I think that is pretty firm ground to stand 
on. Every well-informed person in the city is aware of the 
fact. I know that this vindication of the highest judicial 
tribunal was deserved. This consciousness gives me forti¬ 
tude to bear with serenity injustice and abuse. I knew no 
more about the frauds when they were perpetrated than 
you did. If the palest shadow of guilt rested on my con¬ 
science, I would not be in this city to-day. Falsehood has 
no permanent mission to harm any one. Truth is a silent 
but steady worker, and comes to stay. About the only 
feeling that I am conscious of when I see these attacks, is 
that of solid satisfaction that I am not as my enemy 
would have me. You remember the remark of Diogenes ? 
Some one said : ‘ O Diogenes, they are reviling thee.’ To 
which he made answer : ‘ But I am not reviled.’ 

A SHADY SUBJECT. 

“If you'intend to report what I say,” continued Mr. 
Sweeny, “ I will relate a relevant experience of a phase of 
public life which will be as interesting to your readers as 
anything else, and quite instructive.” 

Mr. Sweeny here referred at length to some correspond¬ 
ence of the past, which need not be repeated here. 

Finding Mr. Sweeny unwilling to give the general 


44 


grounds on which he claimed to justify himself in relation 
to the “ ring frauds,” the reporter reminded him that con¬ 
stant iteration makes the false appear true ; that a new 
generation has come into the direction of affairs since the 
time he wielded political power, and that no one who by 
silence allows the fountains of information to become pol¬ 
luted, can complain if the microbes of error are around. 
After a little reflection Mr. Sweeny spoke as follows : 

“It is over ten years since the judicial declaration was 
made that no imputation rested on me. Subsequently 
every charge was withdrawn by the legal representatives 
of the people, my political opponents. If time has not 
brought healing on its wings, there may be force in what 
you say. Once for all, then, I will speak on the subject. 
I ought, perhaps, to be willing to do so for the reason, 
among others, that there are facts in my case which have 
never been brought to public notice. It will, however, be 
a difficult task, and will introduce the element of egotism 
more prominently than I desire. But I should not be 
charged with vanity in anything I may say. I have been 
without aliment in that direction so long that the capacity 
for ostentation may be said to have died within me from 
inanition.' I shall, however, divest myself of my personal 
relation to the subject and treat it as if I were acting in my 
professional character for another. 

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATION. 

“As preliminary to those matters which will be specially 
new to the public, I ought to make allusions to facts which 
have, I think, a weighty relation to the whole question. 
During the period covered by the frauds I held two impor¬ 
tant public offices, those of City Chamberlain and Presi¬ 
dent of the Department of Parks. You are aware, no 


45 


doubt, that the investigation of the frauds was conducted 
by a host of the ablest men of the Bar, led by Mr. Charles 
O’Conor, and aided by all the inquisitorial agency of the 
law, with power to protect any man who could be made 
State’s evidence with advantage. It was a searching, 
pursuing prosecution, as unsparing as the icy sword 
of the Arctic monarch. In the process every official act 
of mine was dissected with microscopic minuteness to dis¬ 
cover some atom of guilt, some germ of corruption. But 
as the result not a particle or even partiality could be 
alleged against any official act of mine or of those under 
me. My every official act was without the slightest taint. 
Is it probable, if I had been acting in a corrupt conspiracy 
with the other officials of the city government, that some 
trace of corruption would not be found in my official action.? 
Could it be that my co-conspirators would be content to 
have all the acts of public plunder in their departments 
alone .? More than that, if I were capable of the dastardly 
conspiracy could I have restrained myself.? Would I not, 
like others, have had the eyes of Argus to seek and the 
hands "of Briareus to take, and every eye a spy and every 
hand a tell-tale .? Among all the innumerable men who 
were seeking advantage from the public treasury in those 
days, would there not have been one found to whom I had 
proposed corrupt influence, or to whose dishonest proposi¬ 
tion I had listened .? There was not one that the severest 
industry or the widest offers of immunity could discover. 
I was the executive head of the department with the 
largest powers and the fewest legal restrictions—that of 
Parks—and here my official hands were found clean and 
untarnished.” 


7 


40 


REFORM IN THE CHAMBERLAIN’S OFFICE. 

“ In the office of the City Chamberlain, where over sixty 
millions of dollars, money borrowed on revenue bonds and 
taxes collected, annually passed through my hands, every 
dollar was accounted for to the last cent. Was any money 
lost to the city through any skeleton bank, in my own in¬ 
terest or that of others, as had been the case before my 
time and has been since ? Not a dollar. The City Cham¬ 
berlain is the custodian of the trust moneys of the old 
Court of Chancery and of the Supreme Court. These 
moneys are invested in the discretion of the Chamberlain. 
Was there in this secluded and tempting field of discretion 
to a corrupt official any mark of infidelity to my trust ? Not 
the least. Not to the extent of a penny in principal or 
interest. Again, I had no relations, even of a formal char¬ 
acter, with the men who were the direct instruments of the 
frauds, nor did one of them appear anywhere in any trans¬ 
action in the department of which I was the head. My 
period of official action was at a time when I was intrenched 
with the fullest political power, and when there was no 
restraining motive except my sense of duty. 

“When I assumed the office of City Chamberlain the 
practice was, and had been from the foundation of the 
office—a period of half a century—that the Chamberlain 
should receive from the banks of deposit the accrued in¬ 
terest to his own use. It was an unquestioned and unques¬ 
tionable right. It was regarded as an indemnity to the 
Chamberlain for his responsibility. The office had been 
held by some of the most eminent of our citizens—bankers, 
merchants and public men—and they all invariably put 
these moneys into their pockets. Shortly before I entered 
on my duties an act of the Legislature had been passed to 


47 


legalize the practice. This act provided, as the measure 
of duty by the banks to the city, that they should pay, pro¬ 
portionately to the monthly balances, the office rent of the 
Chamberlain and the salaries of his clerks and deputies. 
The annual amount of this interest was very large. The 
system of city financiering was to borrow money on revenue 
bonds during the year in anticipation of the taxes collected 
in the Fall, and from which the bonds were redeemed. An 
influential Chamberlain could'have borrowed the largest 
practical sum and retained it as long as possible, earning 
interest for him. During the four years of my term, which 
I then looked forward to, I could have realized from this 
source, and with my control, at least one inillion of dollars. 
I believe my predecessor, an upright and honored citizen, 
gained this amount from this source. 

SURRENDERING A MILLION. 

“ With full knowledge of my legal rights I determined 
when I took office to surrender and give up this perquisite 
and compensation to the city. I addressed to the Mayor 
a communication announcing my determination and giving 
my reasons. I refer you to the document. It was pub¬ 
lished in the newspapers of the day here and everywhere. 
The act was done when I had no popular court to make 
and no climbing to do. It is no more than fair to add that 
my action excited widespread attention and remark, and 
that it was regarded as an official act without a parallel. 
To be just on the merits of the question I ought to say 
here, in mitigation, that money has never had any worry¬ 
ing attraction for me. Wealth gives me no growing grati¬ 
fication—its loss no lingering pang. 

“ To convey an idea as to how the event was regarded 
by our citizens abroad as well as at home, I may be per- 


48 


mitted in my representative capacity to mention one inci¬ 
dent which was related by Mr. Sullivan, of the old house 
of Wilson G. Hunt & Co., at a meeting of the Board of 
Directors of which we were both members. I hope Mr. 
Sullivan will pardon this use of his name. He said he was 
in Paris, at the rooms of Monroe & Co., the bankers, when 
the newspapers arrived containing my communication. 
The large room was filled with Americans from all parts 
of the Union. Mr. Sullivan read my communication aloud 
to those assembled, and at the conclusion the crowd spon¬ 
taneously gave me three hearty cheers. This was the ap¬ 
preciative response three thousand miles away. 

BY THEIR DEEDS YE SHALL KNOW THEM. 

“If a man is capable of sacrificing a large fortune—a 
million of dollars—for that which he considers just, it is 
not probable that he would, a few months afterwards, en¬ 
gage in a series of reckless and despicable frauds, placing 
himself in the power of men he did not know, to gain a 
much less sum ? I was no more capable of that infamy 
than I would be to sit down with Bill Sykes to plot a bur¬ 
glary and murder. In commercial life, if a merchant gives 
up a large fortune to do what he considers right, either in 
paying debts from which he has been released or other¬ 
wise, his action rings throughout the commercial world, and 
he who has done the deed is honored in his career, and 
when the end comes his life is crowned with victory. 
There are physical impediments to crime. For example, 
you cannot charge a blind man with forgery, nor a dumb 
man with uttering treason, and the like. Equally conclu¬ 
sive are the moral impediments founded in the character 
of the man and the circumstances of his life which give 
special assurance of his moral stamina—as to whom the 


49 


world can say, when an infamous act is charged, ‘it cannot 
be true—it is not possible.’ From the time I announced 
my determination as to the interest on the city’s moneys 
the practice of borrowing large amounts for the accommo¬ 
dation of the banks and the profit of the Chamberlain 
ceased. I resigned the office of City Chamberlain to take 
the Presidency of the Department of Parks. My succes¬ 
sor continued the reform I had initiated. During the brief 
period I held the first-named office, with the reform as to 
deposits in operation, a large sum was realized to the City 
Treasury from interest on deposits, an unchangeable pre¬ 
cedent was established, and a new, original and valuable 
account appeared on the Chamberlain’s books. Of course 
I could have continued in the office of Chamberlain. My 
resignation was voluntary. I preferred the Park Depart¬ 
ment. 

TESTIMONY OF GENERAL SICKLES. 

“ It is not known to the public, but should be, that when 
the facts were fresh in regard to the frauds in question^ 
when the prosecution had every clue, open and secret, and 
were in the full ardor of their pursuit, I made the offer to 
submit to Mr. Charles O’Conor, the leading prosecutor, all 
the private books and papers of my brother and myself, 
and to subject ourselves to his most rigid examination 
under oath, without the presence of counsel on our behalf. 
I asked no favor, concession, or forbearance, only that at 
the end Mr. O’Conor should state what he judicially found 
to be the truth. Gen. Sickles was at the time in this city 
on leave of absence from his post as Minister to Madrid, 
and I retained him professionally to present this proposi¬ 
tion to Mr. O’Conor and to urge its acceptance. Gen. 
Sickles entered on the work with his well-known zeal and 


50 


ability. He had many interviews with Mr. O’Conor, who 
recognized the fearless character of the proposition and 
was ready to engage in the investigation. But he declined 
to act alone. He would only do it associated with Mr. 
Tilden. Gen. Sickles was authorized to accept Mr. Tilden 
as associate inquisitor, and he did so, having many inter¬ 
views with Mr. Tilden on the subject. But that gentleman, 
while not declining to act, never had time to enter upon 
the duty. He was, I believe, in the Legislature at the time 
and otherwise occupied. The most persistent efforts, con¬ 
suming several months, found no reward in action. Final¬ 
ly, Gen. Sickles was compelled to give up the pursuit and 
return to his diplomatic post. His deposition, taken de 
bene esse, testifying to these facts in detail, is on the files of 
the Supreme Court, for all time. When he was about to 
leave he enlisted for the like purpose his friend, Mr. Henry 
G. Stebbins, Chairman of the Committee of Seventy, and 
the latter, in his turn, secured the services of a prominent 
lawyer, a member of the Committee, occupying several 
months more of effort, but all in vain. 

A PEN PORTRAIT OF CHARLES O’CONOR. 

“ I knew the character of Mr. O’Conor. As all 
the world is aware, he was a man of powerful intel¬ 
lect and great learning and experience in his profes¬ 
sion—perhaps the foremost lawyer of his time. Pierc¬ 
ing and analytical in his mental vision, accustomed 
to intricate investigation and to weighing the acts 
and motives of men ; cold, stern, and unrelenting in 
pursuit, considering that a man could be put to no better 
use than deservedly to make an example of him, he was a 
judge to be enormously feared by him who had a trace of 


51 


guilt in his cause. But I knew also that he was a just and 
fearless man, who would investigate with iron rigidity, but 
who would decide with golden fairness. He would not 
only have been fair, but he would have been chivalrous in 
his justice to a falsely accused man. He would have gone 
far—and his influence was everything—to set me right. 
You can understand, therefore, being in a position to sub¬ 
mit to the ordeal, how eager and anxious I was that 
nothing should frustrate it—how bitterly disappointed I 
was at the failure. If I had been afforded the opportunity 
I sought I would have shown that I never received a dollar 
that I was not legitimately entitled to, and my brother 
would have explained every circumstance relating to him. 
It would have been shown that he was a victim, not an ac¬ 
complice, of which there was abundant proof. I paid into 
the city treasury every dollar which had been contributed, 
through him, for political purposes, in regard to which 
there was any charge that the contributor had not hon¬ 
estly obtained the money from the city. May I not say, 
all things considered, without irreverence, that I offered 
myself to as searching and powerful an examination as 
could be found this side of the great judgment seat ? 

SOME PRIVATE POLITICAL HISTORY. 

“ I will here relate some important facts of political his¬ 
tory covering the period of the frauds, not known to the 
world at large, bearing on the question under considera¬ 
tion. Mr. John T. Hoffman was elected Governor of the 
State at the November election, 1868. He then held the 
office of Mayor of this city, and we were to fill the vacancy 
occasioned by his resignation at the ensuing charter elec¬ 
tion in December of that year. We were also to elect a 


52 


Counsei to the Corporation, and Mr. O’Gorman was to be 
renominated. Mr. John Kelly was at that time outside of 
Tammany Hall, and had announced his intention to run 
for Mayor on a ticket with Mr. A. R. Lawrence, the pres¬ 
ent Justice of the Supreme Court, for Corporation Counsel. 
I conceived the idea that the nomination of Mr. Oswald 
Ottendorfer, editor of the Staats Zeitung^ for Mayor, could 
be forced through the organization, and took measures to 
that end, making a ticket, with Mr. O’Gorman, appealing 
to two strong elements of the Democracy. Mr. Otten¬ 
dorfer was then, as he has been since, one of our most 
prominent and valued citizens, a gentleman of eminent 
abilities, high-minded and high-hearted, one of the ablest 
and most successful journalists of his time, and his knowl- 
ledge of public affairs was complete. I wrote to Mr. Otten¬ 
dorfer, asking permission to use his name for that purpose. 
He held the proposition under advisement fora brief time, 
but he finally declined to allow the use of his name, chiefly, 

I believe, on the ground of ill-health. 

HOW RING FRAUDS MIGHT HAVE BEEN CHECKED. 

“ I was told at the time that if Mr. Ottendorfer had ac¬ 
cepted my offer, he would, if he had been elected Mayor, 
have employed private counsel and experts, at his own ex¬ 
pense, to secure himself against imposition or mistake in 
any payment from the municipal treasury. This was the 
plan of action he had laid down for himself if he had found 
it in his power to consent to serve the people as the Chief 
Magistrate of the city. Having occasion not along ago to 
refer to this correspondence, and being unable to find it 
among my papers, I wrote to Mr. Ottendorfer, whose con¬ 
fidence and respect I have reason to believe I retain to this 


53 


hour, asking him if he could furnish me with copies. He 
wrote me in reply that he had not the correspondence, but 
confirming my recollection of the facts. Subsequently he 
wrote me that he had found copies in the files of his paper, 
which he had had translated, and inclosed them to me. 
This correspondence marks a significant event in our mu¬ 
nicipal history. I have the copies somewhere; perhaps 
you would like to see them 

After rummaging for some time in the drawer of his table 
Mr. Sweeny found the documents and handed them to the 
reporter. They are as follows : 

Office of the New York Staats-Zeitung, 1 
(German Daily, Weekly, and Sunday Paper,) I 

Post-Office Box 1,207. 

New York, Sept. 27, 1889. 

P. B. Sweeny, Esq.s 4.1 East Sixty-eighth Street, New York : 

My Dear Sir, —In looking over the file of my paper I 
found in the number of Nov. 24, 1868, containing the report 
of the Democratic Convention, the correspondence referred 
to in your note. I had the letters translated and inclose a 
copy of them. Respectfully yours, 

Oswald Ottendorfer. 

City Chamberlain’s Office, i 
New York, Nov. 14, 1868.) 

Hon, Oswald Ottendorfer: 

My Dear Sir, —After a consultation with many mem¬ 
bers of the organization of Tammany Hall I have been re¬ 
quested to confer with you, and urge you to give your con¬ 
sent that at the ensuing election your name be put upon 


8 



54 


the ticket as the candidate for Mayor of the Democracy of 
the city of New York. 

Your nomination is the general wish of the party and 
would be equal to an election. 

Having been a resident of New York City for many 
years, and being a large property holder, you have a direct, 
material interest in a good administration of our municipal 
affairs. Your well-known capacity, your high character, 
and your thorough knowledge of public affairs—as are 
fully demonstrated in the columns of your influential jour¬ 
nal—will be generally regarded as a guarantee that our 
citizens would gain, by electing you to this high office, a 
worthy successor of the present distinguished incumbent, 
the Hon. John T. Hoffman. 

As a journalist you maintain a perfectly independent po¬ 
sition, and therefore the Democracy of our city would, 
by nominating you, prove, at the same time, their liberality 
and impartiality. 

Allow me to add that we regard you as a representative 
of a large class of our fellow-citizens who, by their in¬ 
fluence and untiring agitation at the last election, have 
materially aided us in the saving of our State from the 
Radical party, who have endangered the rights and liberty 
of the people by unconstitutional and despotic measures, 
and in the election of the eloquent statesman, John T. Hoff¬ 
man, to the Governorship. 

Thus paying a just tribute to your personal character 
and to your claims, and securing a Mayor who is in every 
respect worthy of this position to our citizens at large, 
Tammany Hall gladly takes this opportunity to prove, at 
the same time, the high esteem in which our German 
fellow-citizens are held by this organization. 


55 


With a sincere hope that you will give your consent to 
the use of your name for the purpose mentioned above, and 
with the assurance of my highest esteem for you, I remain, 
your obedient servant, 

Peter B. Sweeny. 

New York, Nov. i6, 1868. 

Hon. Peter B, Sweeny : 

Dear Sir, —Your favor, notifying me that you and some 
of your friends intend to use their influence with the next 
Democratic City Convention to secure for me the nomina¬ 
tion for Mayor, has been duly received. 

However deeply I appreciate the honor you confer upon 
me, and however gratefully I acknowledge the same, I 
consider it my duty to decline your kind offer, as I have 
always held to the opinion that the editor of a newspaper 
should not be an applicant for a public office, unless he 
wants to run the danger of seeing the motives of his zeal 
suspected and, accordingly, the possibility of successfully 
propagating his views and principles in his sphere, 
frustrated. 

Truly, I am well aware that the distinction offered to me 
is not properly to be regarded as intended for my own 
person, but rather as an appreciation of the fidelity and 
perseverence with which the great majority of the German 
adopted citizens of our city have always defended the 
principles of Democracy, and that, therefore, I should re¬ 
gard my objection, stated above, as of minor importance, 
and feel myself duty-bound to accept a position which would 
serve as a distinction and appreciation of my countrymen, 
could I hope to fill this office—if elected—in such a manner 
as to win the satisfaction of our citizens in general and do 
honor to my friends. 


V. of Ga 


5 ^ 


But, on account of my declining health, I have every 
reason to fear that in the near future I may be, repeatedly 
and for longer periods, detained from applying myself to 
the duties of my profession with the necessary energy and 
perseverence ; much less could I hope to be equal to the 
task of performing the onerous duties of the highest 
executive officer of our city. While I tender my sincerest 
thanks to you and your friends for the kindness shown to 
me, allow me to add the wish that the Convention may 
succeed in selecting among the numerous honorable and 
capable members of our party a candidate who possesses 
all the qualities which enable him to be a worthy successor 
of our all-beloved Hon. John T. Hoffman. If this should be 
the case, we may be assured that we will gain on the ist 
of December next as glorious a triumph as the one we 
achieved by our joint exertions at the November election 
in our city. Very respectfully, your obedient, 

Oswald Ottendorfer. 

A. OAKEY HALL ENTERS. 

“ Mr. Ottendorfer having declined,” said Mr. Sweeny, 
resuming his historical review, “it became necessary to 
nominate the strongest man in our organization against Mr. 
Kelly, who was a formidable candidate. Mr. A. Oakey 
Hall was this man. He then held the office of District 
Attorney. He had held it for several terms. He was a 
vigorous, prompt and successful public prosecutor, as is 
well known. He was a graphic writer and a graceful, witty 
and eloquent speaker, the star of all public occasions. He 
was universally held in the highest regard. It would be 
difficult to conceive a position more popularly eminent or 
more satisfactory to the pride and ambition of man than 


57 


that which Mr. Hall then held in this community. When 
he was asked to accept the nomination he declined it with¬ 
out hesitation. It was not in the line of the profession to 
which he was devoted, and neither his inclination nor his 
fortune would allow him to abandon his career. He finally 
yielded, however, to persistent importunity. When Mr* 
Hall was nominated Mr. Kelly left the field, and Mr. Hall 
was elected by an overwhelming- majority over Mr. 
Frederick A. Conkling, the Republican candidate. Mr. 
Hall was at this time a member of the law firm of Brown, 
Hall & Vanderpoel. having, perhaps, the largest practice 
in the city. When he entered on the Mayoralty he con¬ 
tinued his connection with his firm and was necessarily 
daily engrossed with his onerous professional duties. He 
could not and did not undertake to exercise a supervision 
over the departments of the city government. When the 
development of the frauds came, I believe no one was 
more surprised than he, at their existence. He was tried 
and acquitted of any complicity with the frauds. No man 
ever made a greater sacrifice for his party, as the result 
showed, than Mr. Hall made in accepting the nomination 
for the Mayoralty. But my effort to have Mr. Ottendorfer 
for Mayor, at that time, has a pregnant bearing on the 
question as to whether I was enlisted in a conspiracy for 
fraud on the City Treasury. If Mr. Ottendorfer had ac¬ 
cepted my offer, with the conditions he would have brought 
to the public service, what a difference it would have made 
to the city of New York, and in the fate of many men ! I 
have not seen or had any communication with Mr. Hall 
for years, but I am glad to know that he is pursuing a pros¬ 
perous career in London, where he is welcomed in the 
higher circles of law, literature and journalism. He is a 
many-sided man of brilliant endowments. There are other 


58 


general considerations that might be presented as con¬ 
firming and strengthening what I have said, but they 
are probably not required. I have also avoided all al¬ 
lusions to, or reflections on, those who were guilty of the' 
frauds ; otherwise, by comparison and legitimate argu¬ 
ments drawn from the facts and figures surrounding them, 
I could have made my position even more impregnable— 
it would have clinched demonstration. But the task would 
have been as disagreeable as it is unnecessary.” 

SOMETHING ABOUT TILDEN. 

The reporter inquired of Mr. Sweeny if he intended to 
imply that the investigation he had sought at the hands of 
Mr. O’Conor had been embarrassed and defeated by Mr. 
Tilden from personal motives. 

“ I have made no imputation of the kind against Mr. 
Tilden,” replied Mr. Sweeny, “ neither have I intended to 
do so. I have been dealing.with frigid facts. I have made 
no personal reflections in this connection on any man. It 
is difficult to read men’s hearts even where there is no 
overwhelming complexity. Motives sometimes deceive us 
as to their goodness, and sometimes good motives mislead 
to bad ends. I felt bitterly disappointed and chagrined 
that I was baffled and defeated in my efforts to obtain the 
honorable investigation I sought and the vindication which 
I knew would be the consequence. I felt it more on 
my brother’s account than on my own. But at this day I 
have no resentments, and I am willing to believe that Mr. 
Tilden was actuated wholly by pure, elevated and unself¬ 
ish motives. Mr. Tilden had somewhat peculiar relations 
with Tammany Hall. He was always elected a delegate 
to the State Convention and a representative to all im¬ 
portant political bodies by that organization during my 


59 


time. But Tammany Hall did not rally around him and 
make him its leader for great occasions. In the Presi¬ 
dential Convention which nominated Gov. Seymour our 
candidate for President was Sandford E. Church, and the 
vote of the State was cast for him several times in the 
Convention. But we could get no votes for him outside 
our State. Mr. Tilden told me, with some severity at this 
time, that he was better entitled to the distinction than 
Mr. Church, and he probably was. He said he could have 
obtained votes from other States. His friend, Mr. Cass, 
led the Pennsylvania delegation, and he had strong friends 
also in the delegations from the West. Mr. Tilden might 
at that time have been nominated for the Presidency, but 
it was a forlorn hope for any man against Grant, and he 
would have unprofitably forestalled his political fortune. 
At all events he sorely resented Mr. Church being ad¬ 
vanced over him, and I don’t think he ever forgave the 
nomination of John T. Hoffman for Governor. Mr. Tilden 
was a man of a good deal of human nature. I will say 
this—that I have reason to believe that one or more of the 
chief manipulators of the opportunity presented by the 
municipal revolution, with ambitious designs, had an ex- 
aggerated estimate of my importance as a political 
manager, organizer or whatever you will, and that much 
of the feeling I encountered was due to that error, among 
others.” 

The reporter asked Mr. Sweeny why he had gone abroad 
while charges were pending against him, a fact which 
has been frequently and freely commented on to his 
disadvantage. 

TEMPORARY EXPATRIATION EXPLAINED. 

“ That veteran imputation is utterly false,” replied Mr. 


6o 


Sweeny, “ and is only one of the pleasant fabrications in¬ 
vented by the enemy. When I went abroad in 1873 every 
charge against me had been withdrawn for many months, 
and I was as free to go as any citizen. I had made every 
effort to secure my public vindication, as I have pointed 
out, and utterly discouraged I gave up its further pursuit. 
It was publicly announced in the press that I intended to 
leave, and I applied for and obtained my passport regularly 
from the State Department. So much for so much. I in¬ 
tended to remain abroad for a few months only, but I 
became enlisted in business operations and my absence 
was prolonged. On the eve of the Presidential Campaign 
of 1876, although I had no intention to take part in that 
contest, the charges against me were revived. I returned 
home to meet these in a public trial, with the result I have 
stated. I felt secure, under all the adverse influences, be¬ 
cause I had the truth for my safeguard.” 

OUT OF POLITICS FOR GOOD. 

The reporter asked Mr. Sweeny if the rumor was well 
founded that he was seeking to re-enter public life and to 
again take part in the political direction in this city. 

“ There is no truth in the report,” said Mr. Sweeny. 

“ Indeed, it is absurd on its face. New men are in control 
of the party who have borne the heat and burden of the 
day, who have achieved the power they wield and are quite 
able to manage their political estate. I held political 
power long, but I cannot say that I ever enjoyed it. I 
grew to be very tired of it. Two years before the political 
cyclone struck this city, I made a determined effort to 
withdraw from public life. My health was seriously im¬ 
paired, and I had presented to me a great business oppor¬ 
tunity which has since prospered wonderfully in other 


6i 


hands. At this time I had the executive direction of the 
party in the city, with ramifications throughtout the State 
and in other States. It was a position of most exacting 
labor. I was often compelled in campaign times to see 
200 men a day—a sort of perpetual conference meeting— 
leaders of more or less importance, seeking patronage and 
needing to be fed often with fresh motives for party service 
and fidelity. It was a position requiring constant vigilance, 
incessant labor, unshirkable relations with distinguished 
men on a broad field, and an accessibility to the calls and 
demands of an army of adherents to the cause, involving a 
species of slavery that became very irksome. It seems to 
me that the party machinery has improved of late. It runs 
easier and more smoothly, and does not require so much 
personal direction. There is more autocracy in leadership 
and less domination in the rank and file. In those days 
Tammany Hall swayed the State Convention, when it had 
a mind to do so, and nominated the Governor, when it set 
about it, over the opposition of the State leaders. My 
efforts to get out were frustrated. Circumstances were 
stronger than I was. No, I am not seeking at this late day 
that which I so long ago regarded with weariness and 
satiety.” 

This brought the interview to a close, and at a late hour 
of the night the reporter took leave of the retired political 
chieftain at the door of the fine residence of his brother-in- 
law, ex-Senator John J. Bradley, with whom he is making 
his home, in presence of a costly, life-size, half-length 
statue in black marble of Othello, holding in his hands the 
handkerchief which led to the well-remembered family 
trouble. This splendid work of art stands at the entrance 
to the spacious parlors, which are sumptuously furnished 
and give evidence of the cultivated taste of its owner. 


9 



63 


r 


(From the N. Y, World, August 15, 1891.) 

“MR. JONES AND PETER B. SWEENY.” 

THE ex-chamberlain’s ACCOUNT OF HIS LAST INTER¬ 
VIEW WITH THE EDITOR, 

To the Editor of the World : 

In view of what appears in The World to-day, I will 
perhaps be considered justified in referring to the incidents 
of my last interview with the late Mr. George Jones. In 
the month of October, 1889, The World published a long 
interview of mine relating to the “ Ring Frauds,” demon¬ 
strating that my exoneration in open court from any knowl¬ 
edge of them was justified and confirmed by all the attend¬ 
ing circumstances. I was desirous that this interview 
should be noticed in the New York Times,, and as Mr. 
Jones had the most intimate relations with the investiga¬ 
tion relating to the frauds, and I knew him to be a just 
man, I had a thorough conviction that I would receive from 
him valuable confirmatory consideration. I called, there¬ 
fore, at the office of Mr. Jones in the Times Building to see 
him on the subject, but was informed that he was confined 
to his home by illness. I was told, however, by a friend 
there that he was not seriously ill, and would probably see 
me at his residence. 

I went to his house, in West Thirty-seventh Street, and 
delivered my card. Almost immediately Mr. Jones de¬ 
scended to the parlor, where I was in attendance, and 
greeted me in a very cordial manner. Excusing myself 
for the liberty I had taken in calling at his home, I ex¬ 
plained the object of my visit. He then proceeded to dis- 


64 


cuss the whole subject of the “ Ring” investigations, giving 
many personal incidents which were new and exceedingly 
interesting to me. He told me that he knew all that had 
taken place, and was closely identified with the inner as 
well as outer circles of the municipal inquisition, which 
was probably the most astute, powerful, persistent and 
severe that had ever taken place. He referred to the in¬ 
terest and efforts of certain parties to involve me and their 
great disappointment at their fiasco. He said, after so long 
and complete a failure to find out anything against me, they 
had generally concluded the reason to be that there was 
nothing to find. He spoke approvingly of my public vin¬ 
dication in the legal proceedings. He said, he had not seen 
the “ interview,” but expressed regret that it had been pub¬ 
lished as reviving the subject. He dwelt with deep feeling 
upon the injury which I had suffered from the association 
in a broken career and the opportunity which it gave my 
enemies to undeservedly injure me. The conversation oc¬ 
cupied more than an hour, and was characterized by a fer¬ 
vent desire on his part to do all in his power to set me 
right. He said nothing should appear in the Tunes which 
was not friendly and favorable. 

In regard to a notice of the interview, he said he would 
not be able to go to the office that evening, and requested 
me to do so, to see Mr. Charles R. Miller, the editor of the 
Times^ and deliver what he should write. He took a card 
from his pocket and wrote a few lines, and handing it to me 
said I might read it. He had written on the card contain¬ 
ing his name, in pencil, as follows : ” 

“There is nothing against Mr. Sweeny. I wish you 
would treat him most generously.” 

I called that evening on Mr. Miller in his editorial rooms 


65 


and delivered the envelope containing card and inscription. 
Mr. Miller, pointing to a copy of The World lying on his 
table, said he had been trying to find time to read the in¬ 
terview, but had been interrupted ; he had read the letters 
which were included in the interview, and made some re¬ 
mark about their remarkable peculiarity. It is not prob¬ 
able that Mr. Miller has retained the card in question, but 
he cannot have forgotten that he received it—its tenor and 
the general circumstances. Mr. Miller will not misrepre¬ 
sent the facts. 

It was a very gratifying vindication to me at the time 
from a highly esteemed source, and I need not add that the 
card would have a great value to me now, as recorded evi¬ 
dence of the magnanimity, deep sense of right and zeal to 
do justice of one now so generally and so justly mourned. 

Peter B. Sweeny. 


120 Broadway, Aug. 13. 



I would like to preserve, in this connection, some of 
the other papers of Mr. Sweeny—published in the press, 
or, at least, an abstract of them—notably his long inter¬ 
view in the World treating generally upon the city s 
“ Sinking Fund ” a7id finances—his analysis of the act 
authorizing the New York and New fersey Bridge in 
correspondence with David Banks, Esq., and the com¬ 
prehensive review of rapid transit legislation occupying 
more than a page of the N. Y. Sun, published last 
month. I wotild desire also, to make extracts from his 
elaborate article in the Herald, in support of his plan 
for a Grand Terrace improvement west of the Riverside 
Park. But I cannot afford the required space. 

f Y. S. 



NOV 9 1300 


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